The one essential Johnny Cash track, according to Elvis Costello
Not only is Johnny Cash one of the greatest country artists to ever grace the airwaves, but his power and performance seemed to transcend the boundaries of genre entirely, appealing to the entirety of the musical spectrum, from folk devotees like Bob Dylan to the angry young men emerging during the punk age, like Elvis Costello.
Despite his emergence in the age of punk revolution, Costello didn’t adhere quite so blindly to the scene’s manifesto as some of his Stiff contemporaries. For example, you were never likely to see the thick-rimmed spectacles and sharp suits of the songwriter exchanged for safety pins and bondage trousers. Similarly, he was never too keen on the prevailing punk idealism of denouncing music’s entire past out of hand and focusing solely on modernity.
After all, Costello had been raised on an expansive musical diet, stretching from the soulful sounds of Motown R&B to the bass-heavy rhythms of rocksteady and ska – he yearned for the kind of musical exploration which extended far beyond the same three barre chords and a few shouted anti-establishment lyrics. Hence why, from his earliest releases, Costello managed to blend the defiant attitude of the era with his own ever-expanding body of influences from across the entirety of the musical spectrum.
Potentially one of the most unexpected of those influences is Costello’s appreciation for country music. Despite the plodding rhythms of the American genre being worlds apart from the punk-adjacent energy of Costello’s early work, he has always maintained an adoration for the country sound, and his 1981 record Almost Blue cemented that love forevermore.
That particular album was made up entirely of cover versions of country classics, most notably by the likes of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard, but one country icon which Costello has always adored is Johnny Cash.
‘The Man In Black’ revolutionised the world of country during his first emergence back in the 1950s, and his undeniable genius as a performer and songwriter made him a figure of inspiration for countless other artists who emerged in his wake. It is something of an inevitably, then, that Costello is a fan.
Seemingly, though, one particular Cash effort stands head and shoulders above the rest for the songwriter. Back in the year 2000, when Costello compiled a list of his 500 favourite records for Vanity Fair, The Essential Johnny Cash was the only Cash album he selected, and the track ‘I Still Miss Someone’ was its stand-out track, according to Costello.
It stands to reason, then, that ‘I Still Miss Someone’ is the essential Johnny Cash song, at least in the mind of Elvis Costello. Although it might not have been as popular as ‘I Walk The Line’ or ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, for instance, that 1958 track is among the best examples of Cash’s songwriting genius, having co-written it alongside his nephew, Roy Cash, Jr.
Given that the track has been covered by everybody from Linda Ronstadt to Dolly Parton over the years, it is fair to say that ‘I Still Miss Someone’ is among Cash’s most impactful songwriting efforts, and so it should come as no real surprise that it has always remained close to the heart of Elvis Costello – even if it calling it the most essential Johnny Cash track is, indeed, a bold claim.
